The FBM KLCI index lost 8.51 points or 0.46% on Wednesday. The Finance Index fell 0.32% to 16841.63 points, the Properties Index up 0.82% to 1443.5 points and the Plantation Index down 0.31% to 8926.02 points. The market traded within a range of 9.25 points between an intra-day high of 1854.62 and a low of 1845.37 during the session.

The KLCI fell and closed at 1849.87 points despite the positive overnight performance in Wall Street as investors remained wary of the heightening Ukraine worries while also weighing the slowing economy growth in China, which fell to an 18-month low.

Thailand

Frankfurt/Main 16 April 2014

Deutsche B?rse and The Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) to cooperate Memorandum of Understanding signed last week

The Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) and Deutsche B?rse AG signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on 11 April 2014. Both partners aim to enter into a cooperative relationship for the purpose of facilitating the development of the securities and derivatives markets between Thailand and Germany.

Under the terms of the MoU, the organizations aim to assess potential cooperation projects in cash and derivative products, market data as well as in
clearing and risk management. They also are to start a comprehensive sharing of knowledge and information on business areas and regulatory developments.

"SET is pleased to collaborate with Deutsche B?rse to explore business opportunities that promote the development of securities and derivatives markets of the two countries. We look forward to the continued development of our fruitful relationship with Deutsche B?rse," said Sathit Limpongpan, SET Chairman.

"The cooperation with Deutsche B?rse is a key milestone towards enhancing our capabilities in product development and distribution, investor base expansion, and service enhancement," said Charamporn Jotikasthira, SET President.

"We are pleased to deepen our relationship with The Stock Exchange of Thailand with this cooperation agreement. This partnership is an important element of our overall Asia strategy," said Andreas Preuss, Deputy CEO of Deutsche B?rse AG and CEO of Eurex.

The index has fallen for five straight sessions, closing at 574.29 points on Wednesday, the lowest level since March 4 .

Most stocks lost ground, led by PetroVietNam Gas, Vietnam's biggest listed firm, that dropped 2.69 percent, followed by property firm Vingroup with a 2.94-percent fall.

Here is a snapshot of the VN Index at the close

VN Index 574.29
PREV. CLOSE 586.09
% CHANGE -2.01%

HIGH 585.51
LOW 567.61

Asean

SE Asia Stocks-Malaysia weak; March inflation meets forecast

Malaysian stocks hit three-week lows on Wednesday as investors booked profits in shares of large cap companies ahead of the release of March
inflation data while the Thai benchmark index breached a key 1,400 mark amid selective buying in banking shares ahead of results.

Stocks on the benchmark Kuala Lumpur Composite Index fell 0.5 percent to 1,845.37, the lowest close since March 26. Among the losers, shares of Telekom Malaysia dropped 1.7 percent, erasing some of Tuesday's gains.

Malaysia's consumer price index in March rose 3.5 percent from a year earlier, reflecting a hike in food, transport and electricity prices, data from the Statistics Department showed on Wednesday.

The data was released near the closing hour.

The Thai SET index gained 0.9 percent to 1,401.84.

The banking subindex was among the outperformers, up 1.1 percent. Thai banks are due to report their January-March earnings from this week.

The Philippine index extended its gain for a second session, adding 0.8 percent to the highest close since July 30, ahead of a four-day holiday starting Thursday.

Stocks in Vietnam bucked the trend, with the main index falling for a fifth session to the lowest since March 4 as investors were cautious on the first day of a high-profile financial fraud case.

Japanese stocks are still in recovery mode after last week's global rout in technology shares. Markets were also relieved a slowdown in China's growth, to 7.4 percent in the first quarter, was more modest than forecast.

That was the slowest pace of expansion since the third quarter of 2012, but slightly higher than the average of analyst forecasts. China's economy, the world's second largest, grew 7.7 percent in the final quarter of last year. Beijing is targeting 7.5 percent growth for 2014.

In currencies, the dollar was trading at 102.19 yen, up from 101.86 yen late Tuesday. The euro was trading at $1.3818, compared with $1.3814.

Benchmark U.S. crude contract for May delivery was up 7 cents at $103.82 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. It closed Tuesday at $103.75, down 30 cents

US

US stock markets rebounds after choppy day

A stock market swoon turned into a comeback Tuesday.

Stocks managed a late-afternoon rebound for the second time in two days as investors seemed to brush off a report of lower confidence among homebuilders and simmering tensions in the Ukraine.

The late rally even gave a lift to tech stocks like Google and Intel, which had weighed on the market much of the day.

"As long as the market can close on a positive note, it sends a signal to investors that there are bargains in the market still to be had," said Quincy Krosby, market strategist at Prudential Financial.

The day started off well when Johnson & Johnson and Coca-Cola reported encouraging first-quarter earnings.

But the strong beginning fell apart by late morning, when investors got a look at the latest measure of U.S. homebuilders' confidence in the housing market at 10 a.m. Eastern time. Builders saw overall sales conditions as poor, even though they expected improvement over the spring and summer.

The morning slide didn't hold, however. By the end of the day, the Standard & Poor's 500 index rose 12.37 points, or 0.7 percent, to 1,842.98.

The Russell 2000 index of small-company stocks, which had been down more than 1 percent earlier in the day, ended higher. The index is still off 3.8 percent for the year, more than the other major indexes. It's also down more than 7 percent from its recent peak of 1,208 on March 4.

Small-company stocks have been racking up losses over the past five weeks, as investors look to reduce their exposure to risk. That's a turnaround from last year, when the Russell soared 37 percent versus 30 percent for the S&P 500 index.

The stock market has been losing ground in recent weeks as investors worry about whether some tech stocks became overpriced.

"There still seems to be some concern about valuation in some corners of the market, especially some of the more high-flying names that had run pretty far, pretty fast, and that's putting an overall weight on the market," said Brad Sorensen, director of market and sector analysis at the Schwab Center for Financial Research.

Traders also remain focused on what the latest wave of quarterly earnings will say about the health of the U.S. economy and companies.

Most homebuilder shares slumped, with M/I Homes among the biggest decliners. The builder fell 38 cents, or 1.7 percent, to $22.11.

PetSmart posted the steepest drop among companies in the S&P 500 index after an analyst downgraded the stock, saying new competition in pet care will create trouble for the retailer. The stock fell $2.76, or 4 percent, to $66.61.

TripAdvisor led all the risers in the S&P 500 index, gaining $3.53, or 4.4 percent, to $83.30.

Coca-Cola rose $1.45, or 3.7 percent, to $40.18 after it reported that strong sales of noncarbonated drinks helped offset a first-quarter decline in soda.

In Europe, Ukraine sent tanks and troops to reclaim government buildings being occupied by pro-Russian gunmen in the eastern part of the country. European governments have accused Russia of instigating the activists, raising the prospect of escalating violence and more sanctions against Moscow, possibly affecting the valuable energy trade

It is commonplace in journalism to write two types of articles at the transition point between the year that has passed and the New Year. As this writer qualifies as an “old hand” in observing Thailand with a track record dating back 14 years, it is time take a shot at what may unfold in Thailand in 2011.

The first issue that can’t be answered is the health of Thailand’s beloved King Bhumibol, who is now 83 years old. He is the world's longest reigning monarch, but elaborate birthday celebrations in December failed to mask concern over his health. More